Siân Berry
Main Page: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)Department Debates - View all Siân Berry's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(1 week, 3 days ago)
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Sir Nicholas Dakin
If the right hon. Lady stops gabbling and listens, I will attempt to answer her question.
I think the right hon. Lady is getting a little ahead of herself. There is a process in place, and there has been a constructive meeting with the Sentencing Council. A letter is being sent to the Sentencing Council, and the Sentencing Council will respond.
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
I do not believe the shadow Secretary of State believes that the law is currently applied equally and free of structural biases. But given the unfortunate politicisation of all this, does the Minister now back the chair of the Sentencing Council, who says that the state should not determine the sentence imposed on an individual offender and that sentencing guidelines of any kind—if they were to be dictated in any way by Ministers—would breach an important principle?
Sir Nicholas Dakin
Certain things are a matter of policy, and they are for the Government and for Parliament. We have had a constructive meeting with the Sentencing Council, a letter is going to the Sentencing Council, and the Sentencing Council will respond. We totally respect the independence of our judiciary.